Henry k barker



. over the abrading-surface.

UNITED STATES .PATENT OFFICE.

lHENRY K. HARKER, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF THREE-FOURTHS TO JOHN H. DAVIS AND IVILLIAM D. BEGGS, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

PENCIL-SHARPEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 431,517, dated July 1, 1890.

Application lefl July 22, 1889. Serial No. 318,268. (No model.)

T0 all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, HENRY K. HARKER, of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pencil-Sharpeners; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention has for its obj ect to provide an improved appliance for sharpening pencils which shall be simple in construction and efiicient in operation, and whose cost of manufacture shall be so small as to enable it to be sold at a price which will bring it within the reach of all.

Most pencil- Sharpeners heretofore made have either been so expensive as to render their general adoption impracticable, or else, in order that they might be sold at a low price, they have been so fragile or ilnperfectly made as to cause them to soon wear out and become inoperative and useless'.

In the construction of my improved appliance I have endeavored to employ only such instrumentalities as cannot easily get out of order and as will last for years without material deterioration.

The essential elements of my appliance are, first, a stationary abrading-surface consisting, preferably, of a coarse steel file; secondly, a holder for the pencil, provided with a frictiondisk by which to give it rotation when said disk is pressed against a suitable surface, and, thirdly, a handle in which the pencil-holder is mounted, and by which said holder is moved back and forth'while it is revolved by the operation of its friction-disk, and While the pencil held by it is being rubbed back and forth The friction-disk on the holder being of much greater diameter than the pencil held by the holder, it follows that when the said disk is in contact with its co-operating friction-surface and the pencil is at the same time in contact with the abrading-surface a back-and-forth motion of the holder will not only cause the pencil to revolve, but also, by reason of the dierence in the diameters, to be slid or dragged over the abrading-surface, thereby causing the end operation aproper relation between the holder p and the abrading-surface or le, I preferably cause the friction-disk of the holder to travel in a guiding track or groove, and for the purpose of increasing the friction on said disk and preventing it from slipping I preferably insert a strip of rubber or other equivalent material in the bottom of said track or groove.

The abrading-surface or file and the guide track or groove may be mounted upon a suitable base block, or they may be arranged within a small box or scholars companion, that is adapted to receive not only the pencilholder and handle, but also pencils, pens, rubber, and other like articles, such as school children are required to be supplied with.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents a top plan view of my invention; Fig. 2, an end view of the same; Fig.' 3, a sectional vieW taken longitudinally ofthe holder, and Fig. 4 a perspective view o f the invention as applied to a scholars companion.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures indicate the same parts.

A represents a coarse steel le composing the abrading or cutting surface; B, the holder, consisting of a sleeve provided with a friction-disk C, and having one end slitted or split, as shown at b, so as to tightly grasp and hold the pencil E when pushed into it.

F is the handle, provided with a hollow bearing f, in which the holder proper is mounted so as to rotate freely, longitudinally slipping between the two being prevented by means of a pin or screw G, passed through the bearing and into an annular groove H, formed in the holder, as shown in'Fig. 8. Other modes of preventing the longitudinal movement may be adopted; but I prefer the one described on account of its simplicity and cheapness.

I represents the groove or track in which the friction-disk of the holder' is guided, and

' .K the strip of rubber employed for the purpose of increasing the friction on said disk.

To sharpen pencils With this appliance, it is only necessary that the pencil be pushed through the holder, as shown in Fig. l, and then that the handle be grasped and the friction-disk be inserted in the guide groove or track and there held While the holder is moved back and forth in such manner as to bring the end of the pencil in contact with the abrading-surface or file, the sharpening operation being performed in much less time than it could be done by a penknife and the quality of the work being much better.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4 the abrading-surface or file A is secured at one side of the box and the guide groove or track I at the other, a suitable compartment L being arranged between the` two for receiving the holder and its handle.

I claim as my inventionl. In a pencil-Sharpener, the combination, With the holder for clamping the pencil, having a friction-diskthereon, of an independent and movable handle, in which saidholder is journaled, substantially as described.

2. In a pencil-Sharpener, the combination,

with an abrading-surface for the pencil and a friction-surface adjacent thereto, of a pencil-holder having a friction-disk co-operating with the friction-surface and an independent and movable handle, in Which the pencilholder is j ournaled, substantially as described.

3. In a pencil-Sharpener, the combination, With an extended abrading-surface for the pencil and a guide adjacent to and parallel therewith, of an independent holder for the pencil, having a disk mounted rigidly thereon for engaging the guide, and an independent and movable handle, in Which said holder is journaled, substantially as described.

4. In a pencil-Sharpener, the combination, with an abrading-surface for the pencil and a guide adjacent to and parallel therewitlnvof a holder for the pencil, having a relatively large disk rigidly mounted thereon for engaging the guide to rotate the pencil slowly, and an independent handle, in which said holder is j ournaled, substantially as described.

HENRY K. HARKER.

Witnesses: V v

QUINTON CORWIN, THOMAS SPARLING. 

